One Day, One Job » microfinance

Grameen America

Willy Franzen — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:42:54 +0000

As my actions show, I’m a strong believer that entrepreneurship can solve most of societies problems. It’s amazing what you can create with your own labor and a little bit of investment. That’s why I find the microfinance movement so interesting. What I don’t understand is why there isn’t more focus on this kind of lending in the United States. Grameen America is a five-year old non-profit that is changing this. They’re based in New York, NY, and they’re aiming for “a market where any individual with a dream can receive affordable financial products regardless of income, previous credit history, education, or business experience.” Grameen America is attacking poverty head on, and it seems like they’re having some great success.

Take a Micro Approach

What’s really cool about Grameen America is that they took something that worked well in addressing poverty in Bangladesh and brought it to America. I feel like it usually goes the other way. To better understand what Grameen America does, you should take a look at their model. There’s a big social aspect to how Grameen America lends, and I think that has to play a big part in why they have success stories like these. If you like what Grameen America is doing, take a look at their Jobs page. Right now they’re hiring Center Manager Trainees. It looks like the perfect opportunity for a new or recent grad who wants to get into microfinance.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Grameen America?

Innovations for Poverty Action

Willy Franzen — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 16:20:05 +0000

Want to be part of the One Day, One Job/Internship team? Here’s your chance!

When I hear the word innovation, I usually think high-tech. It’s really just about finding new things that work, even if they’re old ideas. Innovations for Poverty Action is a New Haven, CT based non-profit organization that is “dedicated to discovering what works to help the world’s poor.” By using the scientific method in everything that they do, Innovations for Poverty Action is able to optimize their programs for maximum return on investment. That means they’re able to help more people with less money, which is absolutely essential when you’re fighting poverty. It’s pretty cool that they’ve been able to create a system for reliably developing new innovations.

Be An Innovator

Innovations for Poverty Action describes itself as bridging “the gap between cutting-edge academic research and action by nonprofits, governments, and firms.” That’s an important role because theory and practice can often be far apart. The best way to get a feel for what Innovations for Poverty Action actually does is to look at their work. You can read about in-depth studies like their project evaluations of a Girls Scholarship Program in Kenya and The Impact of Microcredit in the Philippines. You’ll also want to take a look at their blog post on zero-energy lights, which are the perfect example of low-tech innovation. Once Innovations for Poverty Action figures out what works, they shift their focus to Scaling It Up. It’s all about making the most of the resources available. If you like what IPA is doing, check out their Jobs page. They have a ton of opportunities posted and some seem appropriate for new grads including:

Data Coordinator (New Haven, CT)
Fall Research Assistant (Washington, DC)
Human Resources Associate (New Haven, CT)
Survey Programmer – Part-Time Independent Contractor
Project Associate (New Haven, CT)
Project Associate – Analysis on Agriculture, Savings and Social Networks (Evanston, IL )
Project Associate – Researcher Outreach & Communications (New Haven, CT)
Project Associate – Survey Programming (New Haven, CT)
Project Associate – Various Projects (New Haven, CT)

They also have positions in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. If you’re analytically minded and want to put your skills towards erasing poverty, then Innovations for Poverty Action would be a great place for you to work.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Innovations for Poverty Action?

Ahkun

Willy Franzen — Sun, 15 May 2011 14:08:43 +0000

The last century or so has been all about mass produced goods. Everybody wants what everyone else has. If all your friends had a Chinpokomon, then you’d want one too. That’s starting to change. More and more people are interested in handcrafted, bespoke goods. Consumerism is changing, albeit slowly. Additionally, more and more people are looking to do good when they make purchases. Whether it’s wearing a Livestrong bracelet or TOMS Shoes, people like showing off their inner “do gooder.” Ahkun is a New York, NY based non-profit that serves the intersection of these two consumer trends. They “work with entrepreneurs who have received microloans” by connecting “them to the global marketplace–creating sustainable businesses and closing the gap between microfinance lenders and borrowers, consumers and producers.” In other words, Ahkun allows you to buy handmade goods from people who are doing their part to grow developing economies.

Ahkun Means Thank You

It’s cool enough to get a hand knitted scarf or hand sewn dress made by some hipster in Brooklyn, but it’s even cooler to get a scarf made by a woman who is helping to build her community in Cambodia. Even in a most selfish act like buying something for yourself, you can do good because of the power of Ahkun. They’re a very new non-profit, and they’re only in the early stages of working with entrepreneurs who have been funded through Kiva, but there’s a ton of promise here. They’re not explicitly hiring full-time, but most early stage non-profits aren’t. They do have unpaid internships posted on Idealist in Outreach and Partnerships, Strategy and Marketing, and Development and Fundraising. Maybe you can start a conversation with them about a bigger, more permanent role. You’d have to be able to offer a lot of value early on, but it’s worth a shot.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you buy something from Ahkun?

Root Capital

Willy Franzen — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:46:08 +0000

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Up to this point I’ve been able to build my business with only my own investment and a little from my family. I don’t know if I’ll ever take outside capital, but I do know that most businesses require some form of investment to get off the ground. In the United States getting capital is pretty easy—there are both equity and debt options to fund your business. In developing nations, capital isn’t nearly as free flowing—mostly because the investments are far too risky. The microfinance movement has helped, but many upstarts are too big for the kind of capital that they offer. Root Capital is a Boston, MA based non-profit that has created “a new class of capital sitting between microcredit and commercial lending, enabling rural communities to unlock wealth and build sustainable livelihoods.” They seem to be modeled after for-profit investment firms, but there investments are obviously done with a very different focus.

The Root of Your Job Search

Since it was founded, Root Capital has “provided more than $200 million in credit to 282 small and growing businesses in 30 countries in Latin America and Africa with a 99% repayment rate from [their] borrowers and a 100% repayment rate to [their] investors.” Those are some amazing results from an investment standpoint, and they look even better when you consider how the investments have helped push forward the development of rural communities. If you look at where Root Capital works, you’ll see that they’re financing ecotourism businesses in Belize, coffee businesses in El Salvador, apparel businesses in Liberia, mango businesses in Burkina Fasao, and lots more. If you’re excited about international development, but also like the free market approach to investment, then you should check out Root Capital’s Jobs page. Right now they have a few opportunities that seem like good fits for new grads including Investor Relations Associate, Finance and Operations Assistant, Financial Analysis Fellow, and a couple of positions that are posted in Spanish that I can’t understand. The deadlines have passed for a few of these positions, but they were accepting applications on a rolling basis and haven’t taken the job postings down yet, so it’s worth a shot anyway.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Root Capital?

MicroFinance Transparency

Willy Franzen — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:53:28 +0000

It’s been quite a while since we looked at entry level jobs in microfinance. I’m not sure whether the recession has had something to do with it, but it seems that there has been a lot less buzz about microfinance over the past year or two than there was in the preceding years. Maybe it’s just me. For those of you who don’t know what microfinance is, Wikipedia defines it as “the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services.” Put more simply, it’s the act of lending small amounts of investment capital to people who wouldn’t have been able to borrow money in the past. Microfinance is a great alternative to many other forms of aid, because it helps build economic foundations that respond to market incentives. MicroFinance Transparency is a Lancaster, PA based non-profit organization that is working to ensure that the field of microfinance stays true to its goals of helping to alleviate poverty. Because microfinance is unregulated and fragmented, MicroFinance Transparency acts as a watchdog that promotes transparency in the industry.

MicroFinance Your Job Search

MicroFinance Transparency’s main activity is collecting and reporting data, and most of the data that they focus on is related to the interest rates of microfinance loans. The reason for this is that microfinance and payday loans aren’t all that different in theory; however, it’s the interest rates and the intention of the loans that supposedly make microfinance a poverty alleviation tool (while payday loans likely exacerbate poverty). The best way to get the full rundown of how MicroFinance Transparency works is to read through their Frequently Asked Questions. That’ll tell you nearly everything you need to know about why they’re doing what they’re doing, and if it’s not enough, there’s plenty more on the the MicroFinance Transparency website. If you like what you see, you’ll probably want to check out their Jobs page. Right now they have two positions posted, but they’re both located in Africa—Accra, Ghana to be exact. The positions are Administrative Assistant and Research Associate, and both seem like they might be interesting for an adventurous new grad. Check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever participated in microfinance?

People Capital

Willy Franzen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:49:13 +0000

I was lucky enough to graduate from college without having had to take out any student loans, but even if I had needed to take out a loan, at least it would have been before the “credit crunch.” These days it’s a lot harder for students to finance their educations than it was just a couple of years ago. Credit in general is extremely tight right now, and beyond that, lenders are being very picky about whom they lend to. For students with no credit history, getting a loan can be a big pain in the butt. People Capital is a New York City based startup that is aiming to change that through what they call a “peer-to-peer lending platform.” They’ve developed a Human Capital Score “to assess the creditworthiness of those just starting their credit histories,” and they’re now building out a network of borrowers and lenders to bring the idea to life. It’s kind of like Kiva for education, but with a for-profit incentive keeping things efficient.

Add Your Human Capital to People Capital

When People Capital’s idea catches on, it has the potential to completely change the lending industry—not just the student loan industry. We used to trust banks to make smart financial decisions, but those days are over. Now we can micro-manage our lending and borrowing through peer-to-peer lending. Borrowers can get lower rates based on information that goes beyond the traditional credit score, and lenders can make a profit while financing the educations of promising students. It’s hard to say whether people are ready for this kind of a business model yet, but if they are, People Capital is going to be growing at insane rate pretty soon (if they aren’t already).

If People Capital sounds like the kind of place that you want to start your career, then you should check out their job listings on Startuply. Right now they’re looking to hire people to help them with Business Development in Philanthropic/Endowment/Affinity Channels and in Capital Markets. You can apply for these positions online right now, and keep your eyes peeled for more new jobs as peer-to-peer education lending becomes all the rage in the world of microfinance.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about People Capital’s concept of peer-to-peer lending?

Kiva

Willy Franzen — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:54:38 +0000

The world of non-profits is built on fundraising. Organizations big and small take money from donors and put it to use how they see fit. The system works, but it leaves a lot to be desired. What if you want to know where your money is going and whom it is helping? What if you want to decide where your money goes? You often can’t. With San Francisco based Kiva you can. You can loan money directly to the working poor. And if you make a wise investment and the person you loan money to succeeds, you’ll get your money back and get to loan it again. You can lend money to a man who runs a food market in Togo or a woman who sells traditional coats in Tajikistan. The choice is yours. Kiva is all about “connect[ing] people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.” It’s a really simple idea that couldn’t have taken hold before the Internet. Now it’s changing the way that we think about giving through microfinance and microfunding.

Good Things Come in Small Packages

I often talk about growing businesses here, but I don’t often use the same terminology for non-profits. Because of the way that charitable organizations work, they don’t often take off and blow up (in a good way) that tech startups do. I would say that Kiva is an exception. As of this morning, $68,700,035 in loans have been granted by 478,852 Kiva lenders in the form of 98,392 loans with a repayment rate of 98.17%. That’s all since 2005! If you want to see more stats from Kiva, you can check them out here. Right now, Kiva is the place to be in the non-profit world, which is why you should get excited about the potential of landing a job with them. Their Jobs page currently has 3 openings listed, and only one that is geared towards new grads – Software Engineer. If you have the necessary skills, then you can apply to jobs@kiva.org with a cover letter and resume. If you’re not a Software Developer, then you should probably keep your eyes peeled to see when they post a job that fits you well. There’s a lot of competition for their jobs, and they don’t seem all that interested in hearing from cold callers (but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try). When Kiva does post some new jobs (and they will because they appear to be growing quickly), you want to be able to jump on them as quickly as you can.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you lent money through Kiva?

Trickle Up

Willy Franzen — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:41:19 +0000

I’m not going to start an Economics debate on a Saturday morning, but I’m tempted. Trickle Up is a non-profit organization that was named as a slap in the face to the theory of trickle-down economics. Regardless of their economic philosophy, they appear to be doing great work by empowering “people living on less than $1 a day to take the first steps out of poverty, providing them with resources to build microenterprises for a better quality of life.” Trickle Up is based out of New York City, and they believe strongly in microfinance, micropreneurship, and microenterprises as being the solution to worldwide poverty. Their website does a great job of telling their story, so I recommend that you check it out to get a full feel for whom Trickle Up helps and how they do it.

Trickling Up

Trickle Up’s Jobs page is extremely simple and doesn’t include many details about what it’s like working for them, but it does include job postings with in-depth descriptions. There’s a Development Associate – Individual Giving position that doesn’t appear to require very much experience. It’s not explicitly entry leve, but if you have any fundraising/development experience, then it’s certainly worth a look. The deadline for applying is January 19th, and you can apply by sending a cover letter, resume and one writing sample to jesseg@trickleup.org with “Development Associate” in the subject line. There’s also a Program Associate for Africa job available (although the deadline was yesterday, 1/9/09). It looks like a really cool opportunity, so it might be worth trying to sneak in a late application by sending a resume and cover letter to africa@trickleup.org with “Program Associate” in the heading. It appears that the Development job is located in New York City, and the Program Associate job is in Africa. Trickle Up also has headquarters in India, Mali, Uganda, and Guatemala and projects in even more countries, but there don’t appear to be any other jobs available.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Trickle Up or Trickle Down? Both?

Freedom from Hunger

Willy Franzen — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:30:19 +0000

With all the hubbub about the ridiculous price of gasoline, another, more pressing price increase has been overlooked by many people. World food prices have skyrocketed as of late. On average only 14% of an American’s spending is on food, which means that we aren’t typically price sensitive when it comes to how many calories we consume (how we consume those calories is much more price sensitive). Now imagine living in a nation where the average person spends the majority of his or her income on food. If food prices go up, you must eat less. Not a good situation to be in. Freedom from Hunger is a non-profit organization that “brings innovative and sustainable self-help solutions to the fight against chronic hunger and poverty” and will hopefully be able to help people across the world cope with the increasing price of food.

Innovating Hunger Away

Freedom from Hunger began under another name, Meals for Millions. They developed a high-protein powdered food supplement that made it much easier to meet the nutritional needs of people living in poverty. Now Freedom from Hunger has shifted their focus to a program called Credit with Education, which uses a combination of microfinancing and education to serve “over 754,000 families in some of the poorest countries on earth.” Freedom from Hunger works in 17 countries, but is based out of Davis, CA.

Do You Have a Hunger for Helping People?

If you want to be a part of an organization that is at the forefront of hunger relief, then Freedom from Hunger is perfect for you. They have 3 entry-level job openings, all in very different disciplines. These jobs appear to be tailored to new college grads, and little relevant experience is needed to be successful in these positions. Freedom from Hunger is currently looking for an Online Content Manager, a Development Research Analyst, and a Human Resources Assistant. The job descriptions are well written and very detailed, so they should answer any questions that you have about the specific positions. Be sure to check out the Freedom from Hunger Jobs page as well, since it tells you how to apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Know of a non-profit that is hiring new grads? Leave a comment and tell us about them.

Calvert Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 13:00:58 +0000

If you’re a college Senior, it’s time to get your life together. You need to find a job, start managing your personal finances, and think about giving back to society. The Calvert Foundation can help you accomplish all three of these goals. They offer investment opportunities. All Calvert investments are focused on community improvement. And most importantly, Calvert is hiring.

The Calvert Foundation, a 3 time winner of the social capitalist award from Fast Company, is a non-profit organization located in Bethedsa, MD that offers financial products and services that channel flexible, affordable capital to underserved communities. That means that they take money from investors to help other non-profits fund community investments with a focus on Affordable Housing, Community Facilities, Microcredit, Small Business, and Social Innovations.

For instance, you could purchase a Calvert Community Investment Note with your choice of an interest rate between 0% and 3%. This is a rate that is substantially lower than something like a Money Market Account, but the payoff goes far beyond the interest earned on your investment. You can use Calvert’s Social Return on Investment Calculator to see what the full impact of an investment could be. Beyond their calculator, you can take a look at real life stories from people who have benefited from Calvert investments by searching through their investment profiles. Jobs are added, houses are built, organizations are founded, and businesses are started because of individuals who invest through the Calvert Foundation.

Now that you understand what Calvert does, let’s talk about their entry-level jobs. Calvert is currently hiring for two positions that we think have great potential for recent college graduates. The first is a Business Development Officer, which is basically a sales position. Calvert is looking for someone who is knowledgeable about financial products and services and has excellent telephone sales skills and experience. The second position is a Portfolio Servicing Associate, who is responsible for being the main point of contact between current borrowers and the foundation. This person should be a Microsoft Office whiz, a great communicator, and preferably have had a background in business, finance, or accounting. There isn’t a lot of information about working at Calvert on the web, but you might want to send them an e-mail and ask some questions. The e-mail address listed for applications is jobs@calvertfoundation.org.

Microfinance is growing rapidly as a part of our economy. The Calvert Foundation is offering great opportunities at the entry-level to be a part of an organization that is taking a free market approach to making the world a better place.

Note: On April 26th we revisited entry-level jobs at the Calvert Foundation.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Even if you’re broke this holiday season, you won’t need a microfinance loan to buy someone special (or yourself) a gift. That’s because we’re giving away a Nintendo Wii!